Just for Fun: From Winnie to Weinie – Familiar Voices of Cartoon Characters

Recently my kids decided to start watching Oswald on Noggin, a Nickelodeon affiliated channel aimed at the pre-school set. The main character is a blue octopus with a top hat, which seemed odd to me, but the two year olds really dig this guy. And once I heard him speak, I did, too. At first Oswald’s voice just sounded strangely familiar to me – but then I placed it. Fred Savage! From The Wonder Years! My daughter looked at me strangely as I bounced around enjoying the hilarity of the fact that Kevin Arnold had morphed into a giant octopus, but she thought I had finally completely lost it a few minutes later when Oswald – or Fred Savage – or Kevin Arnold – called his little hot dog looking canine companion.

“Here, Weinie!”

That’s right – Fred Savage has made the switch from Winnie to Weinie.

So who else is lurking behind those cartoon characters? Take a look:

Clifford the Big Red Dog:
– Clifford – the late, great John Ritter supplied the voice of this over-sized pooch until his untimely death.
– T-Bone – Kel Mitchell from the show Keenan and Kel provides the voice of the fun-loving T-Bone. And what happened to his former compadre Keenan? Check him out on SNL.
– Cleo – Remember A Different World’s hippy chick Cree Summer? She’s now an overprimped poodle.

Curious George:
– Narrator – Hold on to your hats for this one! Academy award nominated, Emmy winning actor William H. Macy leads us through each and every story about this curious monkey!

The Berenstain Bears:
– Mama Bear – The prolific actress Ruth Buzzi brought Mama Bear to life and twenty years later, her voice is still being enjoyed by children everywhere.

If we listen closely the next time our children are watching a favorite show, we may be surprised to find some favorites ourselves!

Do you know of any more “secret stars” behind the voices of favorite cartoon characters? List them in the comments section!